Plant Whisperer Hack Makes Your Flowers Speak

[Photo: Jeff-o on Instructables]So your office plant has died yet again. Did you forget to water it or leave in baking in the sun too long? It can be pretty hard to remember to do such a mundane task when you don't have any kind of constant reminder. Which is why' "Jeff-o" came up with The Plant Whisperer Project.

The hack, which is made mainly from a Parallax Propeller, a two-channel ADC, an audio amp, and a load switch, allows your plant to signal what it needs or even just converse with you--in a cool robotic voice, no less. Every two hours the device will measure the soil moisture and then blurt out what it wants. For instance, if it needs watering it'll say "I'm thirsty". The best thing a plant can now say though is actually when it doesn't want anything, so instead just informs passers by: "I'm a happy plant!" Aww. Or it might make a suggestion, like "I suggest you become a carnivore." Erm, okay.

The Plant Whisperer only cost Jeff-o about $30 to make, and has put a detailed list of instructions on Instructables so you can save a few lives at home or in the office. However, the text-to-speech is still a little patchy, so have fun tinkering with the audio yourself. Now, if only someone could create a similar device for animals to talk human to us...

Check out the video below of the hack having its vocals tested early on in its creation.